Kayd Somali Arts

& Culture

Thank You from Kayd Somali Arts & Culture

Thank You from Kayd Somali Arts & Culture: Celebrating the Success of Somali Week Festival 2024

As we approach the end of the year and look back on our 16th annual Somali Week Festival, Kayd Somali Arts & Culture would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this season of festivities so memorable. From our opening launch in London to the successful Somali Week Express tour in regional cities, we are immensely grateful to our partners, artists, guests, sponsors, and volunteers for making this year’s festival an overwhelming success.

Celebrating Our Theme: Creative Worlds and the Environment

This year, we highlighted the interplay between art and the environment. From thought-provoking talks with Dr. Sada Mire at the British Library to stirring poetry on water conservation, our program underscored the importance of safeguarding Somali heritage in the face of climate challenges.

Highlights Across the Capital

  • Film Premier – Amina at Rich Mix: The UK premiere of Amina dazzled audiences with its riveting story and enlightening Q&A with director Ahmed Abdullahi.
  • Opening Night at the British Library: H.E. Rushanara Ali opened the festival, followed by Dr. Mire’s insights on climate change and a captivating performance by the Dur-Dur Band.
  • Kiln Theatre & South Bank Events: Dynamic panels, poetry recitals by Asha Luul and Yasmin Kaahin, and lively attendees.
  • Documentary Screening – Untold Stories: This documentary traced Somali history in Tower Hamlets, with filmmaker Kasim Wise engaging in a Q&A.

Star Performers and Memorable Moments

We welcomed an array of talented musicians—including Najma Nashaad, Bulshaawi, and Hanad Bandz—and delighted audiences with East African Comedy Night. Literary enthusiasts enjoyed new releases from emerging authors, while nights of poetry, music, and dance echoed throughout the festival.

Taking Somali Week on the Road: Somali Week Express

We expanded our festival across the UK, bringing thrilling performances and discussions to Bristol, Leicester, Liverpool, Sheffield, and beyond. Side eYe Productions toured their latest plays, enthralling local communities. Esteemed figures like Said Saalax and Najmo ‘Nashaad’ Abdinasir Isse took center stage with poetry, conversation, and music, reinforcing the festival’s unifying spirit.

Looking Ahead

As we wrap up our 16th festival and look towards a new year, we do so with immense pride and gratitude. Somali Week Festival 2024 celebrated innovation, heritage, and creative synergy—values we hope will continue to inspire our growing global community. Your support, energy, and presence have made this festival an unforgettable chapter in the story of Somali arts and culture.

Once again, thank you to each and every person who attended, volunteered, performed, sponsored, and supported our mission to foster dialogue, connection, and artistic exploration. We wish you a peaceful end to this year and look forward to welcoming you again next year, as we continue to celebrate the rich tapestry of Somali creativity, heritage, and community.

With gratitude and anticipation,
Kayd Somali Arts & Culture
Fostering Culture. Building Community.

Creative Cafe!

Make it stand out

Join us for an evening at Oxford House celebrating creativity and innovation led by Somali women working across diverse artforms. This event forms part of the Share Your Talent series, a new partnership between Kayd and Oxford House platforming the next generation of artists, entrepreneurs and thinkers. Our first event platforms creative women, but all are welcome to join us for a special evening of music, poetry, spoken word and discussion.

Tickets
 

Who We Are

Kayd Somali Arts and Culture is an arts organisation that was founded in 2009 by Ayan Mahamoud MBE in Tower Hamlets, London to build and expand on Somali arts projects that previously took place in Oxford House in Bethnal Green. These projects were created to provide a platform and space for the newly arriving Somali immigrants and refugees from the late 80’s onwards as part of Oxford House’s arts and educational projects. As a result of Oxford House losing their major arts and educational project grants in 2008, there was a huge gap in providing a space for Somali arts and culture to thrive as well as the local community to have a hub, which is why the founder decided to get together with a group of friends to continue this important work through a new organisation, which then developed into Kayd.

Kayd means preservation in Somali language and seeks to promote arts, culture and heritage for the benefit of the public, including musical, literary, dramatic, performance, dance and visual arts as well as talks and workshops by organising and delivering arts and cultural events and festivals. Since 2009, the flagship event by Kayd has been its annual Somali Week Festival, which is the largest Somali festival outside of the Somali Horn and takes place in UK’s Black History Month in October each year.

Somali Week Festival has grown over the last decade from a small festival taking place exclusively in Oxford House in Bethnal Green to a large festival with partnerships with key arts establishments such as the British Library and Southbank Centre. We also work to provide opportunities to develop emerging artists and to support individuals to pursue careers in the creative sector. Our aim is to link both our communities as well as our artists to engage with mainstream arts organisations and venues to access them as audiences and practitioners and to develop creative skills through community initiatives.

 

Honouring & Celebrating Hudeydi

 

Hudeydi

Ahmed Ismail Hussein “Hudeydi” (1928-2020) was a popular senior Somali musician and oud virtuoso. “The King of Oud”, as he was famously known, was part of the rich Somali cultural and artistic scene in London after he settled there in the 1990s, during the Somali Civil War, creating a salon in his home for artists and music lovers alike where he also gave oud lessons.   

Kayd Somali Arts and Culture had the honor of hosting Hudeydi’s final retirement concert in February 2020.  His iconic legacy lives on through his music and in the memories of all those of us who adored him and continue to do so. On behalf of all of us here at Kayd family and our Board of Trustees, we send our deepest condolences to Hudeydi’s family, fans, Somalis across the world and his fellow Somali artists. We will endeavor to keep his iconic legacy alive.